João Gilberto
João Gilberto Prado Pereira de Oliveira, known simply as João Gilberto, was a pivotal figure in the development of bossa nova, a genre that blends traditional Brazilian samba rhythms with jazz influences. Born in northeastern Brazil into a prosperous family, Gilberto displayed musical talent from an early age, eventually moving to major cities like Rio de Janeiro and New York to pursue a music career. His innovative style, characterized by soft vocals and a unique finger-picking guitar technique, contributed to the bossa nova sound, which is marked by its intimate and lyrical qualities.
Gilberto's collaboration with prominent composers like Antônio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes led to the creation of iconic tracks, including "Chega de Saudade" and "The Girl from Ipanema," which gained international acclaim. His work facilitated the global spread of Brazilian music, particularly during his time in the United States in the 1960s, where he recorded influential albums alongside American artists. Gilberto's career spanned several decades, during which he remained a significant influence on Brazilian music and artists worldwide, including those involved in the tropicalism movement. Despite facing personal challenges in his later life, including legal battles and reclusiveness, Gilberto's legacy as a musician who shaped Brazilian popular music endures. He passed away on July 6, 2019, leaving behind a rich musical heritage.
João Gilberto
- Born: June 10, 1931
- Birthplace: Juazeiro, Brazil
- Died: July 6, 2019
- Place of death: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Brazilian Latin guitarist, singer, and songwriter
Gilberto created the subdued, lyrical style of bossa nova by transforming the composition and performance of samba canção (samba song), introducing Brazilian popular music to the world.
The Life
João Gilberto Prado Pereira de Oliveira, the youngest of seven children of a prosperous businessman who lived in the interior of northeast Brazil, early demonstrated an exceptional affinity for music. Skilled in the guitar and immersed in Brazilian and American popular music, he sought a musical career, moving to first to Salvador and then to Rio de Janeiro in his late teens. Although he was recognized for his musical talent, he was withdrawn and temperamental, unable to hold a steady position with a musical group. He moved to various cities, finally settling again in Rio de Janeiro in 1956.
Throughout these itinerant years, resolutely composing and practicing, he developed the bossa nova (new wave) beat. The composer-lyricist duo Antônio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes recognized the resonance of Gilberto’s style, and began to record his music in 1958.
Attracting attention in the United States, Gilberto moved to New York in 1962, recorded with Stan Getz, performed at Carnegie Hall, and collaborated with Frank Sinatra. After a two-year period in Mexico, Gilberto returned to New York, before settling definitively in Rio de Janeiro in 1980.
He married the singer Astrud Weinert in 1959 and had a son, João Marcelo Gilberto. After their divorce, he married the singer Heloísa "Miúcha" Buarque de Holanda in 1965; she died in 2018. Their daughter is the singer Bebel Gilberto. Late in life, he had another daughter, Luisa Carolina, by Cláudia Faissol.
Gilberto fought a number of legal battles in his final years and became reclusive. He died on July 6, 2019, at home in Rio de Janeiro. He was eighty-eight years old.
The Music
Gilberto wove the alluring web of bossa nova from numerous strands. Sung slowly and softly, the music achieved a warm intimacy. Its spare simplicity and gliding improvisation achieved a rich lyricism, accentuated by the play of syncopated dissonance against a dominant harmony in the interaction of solo voice and instrument. This interplay was underscored by the so-called stuttering (gago) guitar. The effect was like that of a piano nocturne, one hand playing a slight disrhythm overlaid by a dominant harmonizing hand.
Three phases define Gilberto’s musical development. The first was the matured emergence in Brazil of bossa nova, encapsulated principally in three albums: Chega de saudade, O amor, o sorriso e a flor, and João Gilberto. The next phase was the diffusion around the world of bossa nova from the collaborative base Gilberto established with American musicians in the United States from 1962 to 1980. Among the principal albums of this phase are Getz/Gilberto, which won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1964, and Best of Two Worlds, along with the one from his Mexican sojourn, João Gilberto en Mexico. The third phase extends over the period since his return to Brazil in 1980, characterized by recordings of works of the historic creators of Brazilian popular music and with the leading contemporary Brazilian artists of that genre. Prominent albums include Prado Pereira de Oliveira, Brasil, the Montreux Jazz Festival discs, Eu sei que vou te amar, and the Grammy Award–winning João voz e violão. Although he stopped recording new music in 2000, Gilberto toured in the United States, Europe, and Japan, and performed into 2008.
“Chega de saudade.”This vanguard music of bossa nova was the first in which Jobim incorporated Gilberto’s distinctive rhythm. With lyrics by de Moraes, this song was first recorded on a single by Elisete Cardoso in 1958. Gilberto’s rendition appeared a year later on the Chega de saudade album.
“Bim Bom.”This onomatopoeic presentation of the swish of female hips expresses the minimalist, soothing quality of bossa nova. In this genre also is “Hó-bá-lá-lá,” echoing the Yoruba sounds of the rituals of candomblé (an Afro-Brazilian religion). Experimentally conceived in the early 1950’s, the songs first appear as identifiable recordings of Gilberto on Chega de saudade.
“The Girl from Ipanema.”This signature anthem of bossa nova swept the world in the mid-1960s, and it celebrates the insouciant, hypnotizing beach stroll of a young girl in Ipanema. The original Portuguese lyrics by de Moraes were translated into English by Norman Gimbel in a version sung by Astrud Gilberto on Getz/Gilberto. The song reverberated more resonantly when recorded in 1967 by Frank Sinatra.
Musical Legacy
Over the course of his career, Gilberto molded the classic canon of Brazilian popular music, particularly the samba canção. He created a singular style of music that listeners worldwide immediately recognize as Brazilian. Brazilian performers and composers attest to Gilberto’s influence on their work, especially the leading figures of the tropicália (tropicalism) movement, such as Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil. His admirers have imitated the gliding, intimate style with which he imbued samba canção, the signature Brazilian musical genre. Significantly, Gilberto pioneered collaborations with U.S. musicians, composers, and record producers, which helped spread Brazilian popular music throughout the world.
Principal Recordings
albums:Chega de saudade, 1959; Brazil’s Brilliant, 1960; Gilberto and Jobim, 1960 (with Antônio Carlos Jobim); O amor, o sorriso e a flor, 1960; Samba de uma note so, 1960; João Gilberto, 1961; The Boss of the Bossa Nova, 1962; Getz/Gilberto, 1963 (with Stan Getz); The Warm World of João Gilberto, 1964; João Gilberto en Mexico, 1974; Best of Two Worlds, 1976; Amoroso, 1977; Brasil, 1981 (with others); João Gilberto, 1988; The Brazilliance Music of Rhythm, 1990; Performance, 1991; João, 1992; Bossa Nova Jubileu, Vol. 1, 1994; Bossa Nova Jubileu, Vol. 2, 1994; Ela e’ carioca, 1994; Eu sei que vou te amar, 1994; Musica!, 1998; Prado Pereira de Oliveira, 1999; Besame mucho, 2000; João voz e violão, 2000; So João, 2000; João Gilberto in Tokyo, 2004.
Bibliography
Buenosaires, Oscar de. Bossa Nova and Samba: History, People, Scores, Books, Lyrics, Recordings. Albuquerque, N.Mex.: FOG, 1999.
Castro, Ruy. Bossa Nova: The Story of the Brazilian Music that Seduced the World. Chicago: A Capella Books, 2000.
Denselow, Robin. “João Gilberto Obituary.” The Guardian, 6 July 2019, www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2019/jul/06/joao-gilberto-obituary. Accessed 14 July 2020.
McGowan, Chris, and Ricardo Pessanha. The Brazilian Sound: Samba, Bossa Nova, and the Popular Music of Brazil. 2d ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Temple University Press, 1998.
Moreno, Albrecht. “Bossa Nova, Novo Brasil: The Significance of Bossa Nova as a Brazilian Popular Music.” Latin American Research Review 17, no. 2 (1982): 129–41.
Ratliff, Ben. “João Gilberto, an Architect of Bossa Nova, Is Dead at 88.” The New York Times, 6 July 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/07/06/arts/music/joao-gilberto-dead-bossa-nova.html. Accessed 14 July 2020.
Veloso, Caetano. Tropical Truth: A Story of Music and Revolution in Brazil. Translated by Isabel de Sena. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2002.